Ask anyone how to get good service for your car, and one of the first suggestions you’ll hear is to find a good mechanic. That can be easier said than done, but I guess the first step is to ask around. Find who your friends and family are using. Haunt owners club message boards to see who people with cars like yours are using for service in your area.

Even still, a bit of caution is still wise in the early days, as there are still the odd bad apple out there. Over at AOL Autos this week, Christopher Neiger has a post titled Confessions of an Auto Mechanic. It’s a great post, but part of it struck me as being pretty funny. Christopher interviewed a car repair veteran, who only agreed to the chat if he was guaranteed anonymity. Why? Max, the fictitious name of our informant, should know that his words are condemning the old ways and are doing himself and consumers a great service. In fact, I’ll bet that if Max had allowed his real name to be used, that customers would flock to his shop. Remember, AOL Autos is a pretty powerful place to park your soapbox!

Guys like Max are the techs that you want to seek out. Guys (or girls) who stick up for their customers and are willing to that extra little bit to make sure things are right. Just remember, this is their livelihood and they deserve every penny they are charging. Unless of course you can fix it yourself!

Cooter’s mug above came from Cooter’s Place. If you are into the Dukes of Hazzard, this place stocks tons of cool Dukes stuff.